I grew up in Michigan where I began my education in a one-room school. I watched my small rural community grow into the bustling City of East Lansing , home of Michigan State University . After attending MSU, I moved to Rhode Island and then to a farm in the small town of Tiverton, Rhode Island . There I raised three children along with a menagerie of farm and domestic animals. Between 1980 and 2005 I was an Associate Professor and Extension Specialist in housing and community development with the University of Rhode Island 's Department of Community Planning.

I began oil painting in anticipation of wanting something creative to do retirement. I have studied at the Newport Art Museum School, the Woodstock School and the Lyme Acadamy of Art. My instructors have included Josie Richmond Arkins, Luke Randall, Tom Deininger, Don Demers and David Barnes.

When my husband, Dennis OKeefe, retired he took on the formidable task of restoring Wingover to a working farm. After my retirement I rekindled my interest in chickens that began long ago when my children had a small flock including a beautiful white Cochin hen, Snowball. Now, the farm and our new flock of hens provide an endless array of subjects to paint. As well, I live in an area where many farmscapes wait anxiously to be saved or to be painted before they are bull-dozed in the name of 21 st century “progress.”

For the past few years I have, with friends, taken up to a week at a time for straight-out painting at Block Island , RI , and Provincetown , MA .

Next scheduled, a paint-out at Monhegan Island , Maine in Fall 2006.